Just Two Good Old Boys
We never mean any harm!
Just Two Good Old Boys
081 Just Two Good Old Boys
Gear up for a ride through our fascination with anime-inspired firearms and the shimmering allure of chrome-plated guns. We share personal anecdotes from our motorcycle club days, comparing the joys and challenges of maintaining chrome to the freedom and camaraderie of motorcycle riding. As we plan our upcoming trip to Utah, we sprinkle in practical travel tips and humorous stories, shedding light on scenic drives and attractions in Idaho, all while juggling health advice with a dose of humor.
In our final segments, we engage in spirited debates on a variety of topics, from the authenticity of podcasting and data privacy challenges to the ongoing debate over voting rights and landownership. We wrap up with reflections on influential media like "South Park," recent troubles in nuclear energy, and the intricate dance between liberty and accountability in both corporate and personal spheres. This episode is packed with thought-provoking discussions and offbeat banter that promise to keep you entertained and informed.
Check out Gene's other podcasts -
podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show
Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com
If you have comments drop at
Email: gene@sirgene.com Or dude@namedben.com
or on
X.com: @sirgeneTX @dudenamedbenTX
Can't donate? sub to Gene's GAMING youtube channel (even if you never watch!) Sub Here
Weekend Gaming Livestream atlasrandgaming onTwitch
StarCitizen referral code STAR-YJD6-DKF2
Get EMP protection for your car using our code sirgene
Well, howdy Ben.
Speaker 2:How are you today?
Speaker 1:Dude, you know I'm all right, but this world is kind of fucked. Been that way for a while, I'd say yeah, well, this is the first time we've had a presidential candidate come out and openly call for communism.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think they've gotten, or at least of a major party right. Yeah well, I think they've gotten to a point where they feel comfortable enough that communism is no longer a bad word.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So what do you think would be a better nickname for Herr Kamala? Is it Comrade Kamala, Kami Kamala? What Cunt Gene. This is why we're friends.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, anyway. Uh, gene, this is why we're friends. Oh yeah, well, anyway. Uh, you asked, I said the answer. Look, the reality is if she weren't being positioned into the most important job in the world, literally if she was just some minor political hack she's mostly harmless.
Speaker 2:I mean she's. It's not like she's got some great agenda. She just kind of follows along with people that actually have agendas. You mean like copying trump's tax, whatever it is. I mean, look, she didn't come up with that either. Somebody told her that. Oh, you know, we don't want to be on the wrong side of that. You better, you better say the same thing. Is she? I think she is a vessel waiting to be filled by something large and black.
Speaker 2:Willie brown, you said it oh jesus christ so I how the hell she got to this position is that someone's got to make a movie about this, and I mean a comedy, I don't mean like a serious.
Speaker 1:It's gotta be a la death of stalin right?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah exactly, exactly in that kind of vein where, like a whole bunch of crazy circumstances all had to line up right for her to actually be in a position to become us president yeah, well, all I can say is text it now, get out, before comrade kamala takes over, like you know, you can vote your way in you can vote your way into communism.
Speaker 1:Plenty of countries have. You know there have been some. You know the bolshevik revolution and so on. But when you look at like argentina and so on, yeah, they voted their way in there, yeah, and unfortunately they took the gun, so they can't shoot their way out but they always take the guns. That's standard practice comrade kamala has said that if congress does not act in her first hundred days, she will take executive action to force a buyback yeah, a buyback which she has no authority to do.
Speaker 2:You know, technically I'll be a devil's advocate here a little bit Uh-huh. I don't think there's anything prohibiting the government from offering to buy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's not her sentiment, though it's mandatory, I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 2:offering to buy, yeah, that that's not her sentiment, though it's mandatory, I know, I know, I know. But uh, I think they're going to try and play both sides of that coin, arguing that there's nothing illegal about offering to buy, but then I have penalties that if you don't sell yeah, and the other argument that I've heard some lawyers making is, you know, uh, civil asset forfeiture for lots of different minor things.
Speaker 1:That then that is literally illegal.
Speaker 2:The whole forfeiture laws are it's criminal.
Speaker 1:They're immoral, but they're also illegal yeah, well, except they happen all the time you do have good luck getting shit back you don't ever. The other thing is, I've literally heard people talking about how they could potentially use eminent domain because it's quote unquote for the public good, because it's seizing property for the public good, which is just such an insane argument to even start with right, that's for building a road. That's for building a road. That's for building a military base.
Speaker 2:That's for, and I think we need to re-evaluate whether that's even legitimate well, it's not moral, that's for damn sure but, you know it does.
Speaker 1:It does exist and has existed for a long time and I think it's been used immorally in the past. But this would be such a jump the shark moment. Yeah, you know but, every time they, every time she opens her mouth and I hear something new from her, which isn't often because she's avoiding the press, but it's so egregious it's like surely this will be the thing that just says okay, no thinking person can support this person.
Speaker 2:But nope, people are just what did I say four years ago? What did I say four years ago? I said that well, I don't know, maybe you weren't listening to Sir Gene Speaks back then, but immediately after the election, I said that clearly, trump got the most votes. However, he also lost. And this is going to be a problem four years later now, because if Trump runs again, they're going to do the exact same thing and defeat him again, because there are enough people that dislike trump to not stay home. And that's a big problem, because if the democrats ran somebody um well, let's even say her right, even though I never would have predicted she would be the one running. But whoever the democrats ran, if they were running against vivek, if they were running against Vivek, if they were running against a handful of other Republicans, there would be quite a few Democrats that would just stay home.
Speaker 2:Because, let's face it, democrats don't really like to go vote, much like the Christian right apparently.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, there's Christians for kamala now there are I.
Speaker 2:I heard no agenda talking about that. I haven't heard it directly, but I heard no agenda talking oh I, I've seen it on several wait, did you see my meme?
Speaker 2:you probably didn't see it because everybody keeps telling me that I put way too much stuff on x. But I I made one that said um, it had images of a Trump campaign stuff and says this MAGA for Kamala event is off the hook, she can't possibly lose. So I mean, there's literally every group for Kamala you can imagine. Well, there might as well be MAGA for Kamala. Yeah, so that was pretty funny. I thought Thought it was funny enough that I posted it on Twitter.
Speaker 1:You're quite happy with your own sense of humor.
Speaker 2:Oh, I am yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:Jesus dude.
Speaker 1:I don't. You know, I've really in the last 24 hours thought about OK, where do I go? I want to get out of here, I don't. I don't want to fight a communist takeover.
Speaker 2:I don't want to fight a communist revolution.
Speaker 1:But you know you and I are not the kinds of people who can just shut up and you know the secret police will come after us if this goes communist Like A, we've said enough to begin with, but B, we're not the kind of people who can keep our mouths shut enough. I, I, there is no. I do not see a good way out of this man and I don't see anywhere else in the world to go at all as far as physical location.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a it. I mean you could get lost in a lot of different countries. Would you call them better countries? Probably not, but they're certainly less volatile countries right now yeah, but like where? Well, um, I've got some friends that just bought a house in portugal. Um, now, I'm not a drug person, but they, they apparently have great drug laws out there and as long as you got laws uh, do they?
Speaker 1:I haven't checked their gun laws at all you know the country that has the best gun laws next to the us right now that's not currently at war. Who albania really? Interesting albania and ukraine actually have probably had, uh, some of the most gun freedom. You know, uh, post-soviet union, yeah, like you know, if you look up the list of what countries have gun laws like America, mexico is on that list it's like, yeah, no, that's not a real thing.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, although I will say again with Mexico and actually a lot of these countries. I think the advantage is there are two sets of laws, one for poor people one for rich people yeah, one for poor people, one for rich people yeah, um.
Speaker 2:So, and I know, like in in portugal, as long as you deposit roughly um, I think it was 175 000 euros into a bank, yeah you immediately all kinds of things, yeah, yeah, it's like well, you, it's not immediate, but the timer kicks off and, like a year later, you're a citizen yeah, so same thing for Cyprus and lots of others. Well, cyprus for a long time has been a great money laundering place, so I've heard. But there are places to wait out. But the key thing here is this is not like something the average American can take advantage of, because the average American has one week's worth of money in the bank yeah and uh, this is more of a can you live for a few years without working kind of situation.
Speaker 2:And uh, the answer for most people is hell, no, um. So, unfortunately, the alternative is if, if it's a full-on communist takeover is, if you can't leave, what are you going to do? Are you going to join them or are you going to fight them?
Speaker 1:Well, and if you fight them, they learn from the people who got crushed by the various Soviet Union countries. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:For sure got crushed by the various soviet union countries. For sure, yeah, it's um. The whole fighting thing is um. You know, it's been theoretical for so long in this country for well, what? 150 years, yeah, uh, since americans had to actually take up arms against themselves, 140-something but yeah, close enough.
Speaker 1:Well, no, 180.
Speaker 2:Multiple generations yes, right, so it's very much a theoretical thing for a lot of people. It's very much a theoretical thing for a lot of people, and the naivete that I've heard, even by people that are like I would consider preppers is, is worrying to me. People that say things like well, the usr me would never fire an american citizen yeah or I if the gun confiscation comes.
Speaker 1:I lost my guns in a boating accident.
Speaker 2:What does boating have to do with? Jack shit, dude.
Speaker 1:No, no no, the point is, excuse me. So you believe in the Second Amendment, you believe in these things, you think you have a right to guns so that you would hide them. But what are you hiding them for? Why are you hiding your guns Exactly? When do they become a tool to be used, right? Yeah, and, and I'll be clear, I'm not advocating for any violence at all at this stage. But at the same time, why?
Speaker 1:but everybody done if it is not for a potential violent action, whether in defense of yourself, others or your own rights right.
Speaker 2:I mean defense is the main point here. It's like if you, if you're not going to defend yourself with a gun, then why do you want a gun to begin with? Maybe you should sell it while you can get some money for it exactly because yeah, or or do you just think they look pretty and you're collecting them for visual appearance sake? I guess and I I will say I have a few guns that happen to be white colored that I will never shoot. So yes, there are people that collect guns because they look pretty.
Speaker 1:I'm one of those, but not all my guns. I've got a Republic of Texas 1911. Oh, okay, and I've sent you pictures. Yeah, yeah yeah, that's gorgeous right.
Speaker 2:And I bought it. I didn't realize you bought it, I just thought you sent me pictures.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so you did buy it. Okay, that was my birthday gift to myself a while back. Nice, you know, and they only made 1,823 of them right, so it's a limited thing and everything else. And yeah, I don't know Like there are reasons that I get why you would like that's a pretty gun, but I've shot that gun Right. It's not, I'm not, I don't, I, I, I so far do not own a firearm that I have not fired Right. That's just not a thing for me. They, they are tools more morning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I, I get it, I get it, but there's uh, and I honestly I don't even know why I have these guns. I just always thought that it'd be cool to have guns that look more like anime guns, but they have to be real like. I don't want to larp with them, right, I don't want a plastic gun, or be you and blair white got I fuck you first of all but yeah, yeah she's got a shit ton of different colored like pink and shit yeah yeah, not just pink, though she's got other colors too yeah, yeah, but it's the same principle for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:Although she shoots hers, I don't shoot mine but, it's.
Speaker 2:It's just, there's something interesting about a non-black gun, um, that almost makes it like a cartoon or movie, even though it fully is capable of servicing the same task. Uh, it just visually looks different and I will say that as far as quote unquote real guns, and I will say that as far as quote unquote real guns, my, uh, one of my all time favorite looking guns is from the um hit man video game, uh, which are long, barrel, like five inch barrel, chrome 45s, mm, mm, chrome 45s, like just over the top, bright, shiny, cool guns. And because you know, in the video game you right assassin, so you got to have that special weapon. But but I've like, looked at, I'm at a dealer and, holy shit, the fingerprints get on there within a two seconds that's worse than the fingerprints. Get on there within two seconds.
Speaker 1:That's worse than the white gun. Like a chrome gun, Well, especially if it's a high-gloss chrome, yeah yeah, yeah. Stainless steel is different, right yeah?
Speaker 2:that's matte, because it's usually a matte finish. Yeah, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:But a high-gloss chrome gun. Yeah, I mean again, you can have the dirty, hairy moments and shit like that, but if you're touching, it at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, and I learned my lesson with actual chrome when I had my motorcycle where for every hour of riding there was roughly an hour of cleaning. So I went on a two, two and a half hour ride'd be cleaning the the bike for two and a half hours in the garage after that. So it's a and if you don't clean it, dude, you can't clean it like.
Speaker 2:You gotta take care of that chrome, get it polished up immediately after you get it dirty, otherwise it's gonna take even longer to make it shiny yeah so never again will I buy a motorcycle that's all chromed out um anything I buy, moving forward if, if I ever get a motorcycle, which probably won't, but if I did all plastic well, I really enjoyed writing.
Speaker 2:I mean, I I liked writing, it, was it? It's about as close to horse writing as I've ever been. Um, I've only ridden the horse once and the motorcycle had a lot of that same feeling, but not, uh, you know, there wasn't an animal underneath you yeah, I, I, I the, the bond and the way a you when you're.
Speaker 1:If you've ever really ridden a horse, you know it's, it's. It's hard to have that same interaction with an inanimate object.
Speaker 2:I guess is what I would say well, it's not about the interaction, it's about the fact that you're moving way faster than your legs can carry you, but slow enough that you can have a conversation with somebody next to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like that's the cool aspect of it. It's not like, no, I'm sure there's a you know, like you said, a bond that you've got with the horse and you kind of like you start knowing, or it knows, where you want to go, more the more time you spend with it, blah, blah, blah. But no, I'm talking about just from a of movement standpoint, because the ideal speed and the rides that I really enjoyed, these were all at like 45 mile an hour, speed limit areas where you're going somewhere between 30 and 45, 50 maybe at the top, and you're riding, uh, you know, two bikes alongside each other and, uh, the best ones, of course, were huge rides. I've been in large motorcycle events where there were literally thousands of people, where you have nothing but bikes two by two on a highway for miles and miles, and that's a really cool feeling.
Speaker 1:So there's a lot to be said for it. I've never been a motorcycle guy. I've ridden a couple dirt bikes in my life and that's about it.
Speaker 2:Well, and I was the president of a motorcycle club once.
Speaker 1:Of course you were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Still have the leather jacket with the patch. Doesn't fit me anymore though.
Speaker 1:Was it Hell's Diabetics or what Fuck you?
Speaker 2:As the local uh southern cruisers chapter uh-huh, uh-huh yeah, um hell's diabetics. I didn't have diabetes back when I was riding a motorcycle. That was all my ex-wife's fault.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna blame her well, dude, I I keep losing weight. I weighed myself this morning. I'm 17.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of the people that need to lose weight, I don't consider you one of those.
Speaker 1:Dude, since I've been tracking it since I got my watch and everything, I'm literally down 30 plus pounds. Wow, in eight months. That's pretty good, it's not?
Speaker 2:intentional. Well, yeah, I mean that it's it doesn't matter if it's exactly it's called stress it's. It doesn't even matter if it's intentional, as long as it's healthy, and that's the key.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so far that you know it's been, at a rate that I'm not like.
Speaker 2:Oh jesus should I go to the doctor, but yeah, you know anorexics talking about losing weight not a good thing. A fat dude's losing weight yeah, probably a good thing. You're kind of like in that like where you should be area, so I certainly wouldn't want to see you lose any more than that.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean technically I'm. I'm still technically overweight for my height.
Speaker 2:That is such an arbitrary bullshit thing. There is no such thing. Yeah, yeah I got you.
Speaker 1:No, I'm very healthy though, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, you eat healthy. I see pictures of your food pretty regularly. Huh, I see photos of stuff you cook pretty regularly.
Speaker 1:so yeah, you know I try to eat pretty healthy.
Speaker 2:I don't think I've seen anything that you've sent me a photo of that I wouldn't eat. I mean, I think most of the stuff you cook looks very appetizing like yesterday, playing with the kids and everything and messing around with them.
Speaker 1:I got in 10 000 steps you know, uh, but this week has not been good for that at all because I've been just swamped with work. Man, in fact, I'm getting on a plane uh next week. Oh wow, I'm uh going to Utah.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, gotcha. Yeah Well, there's a lot of you know a lot of Mormons in Utah.
Speaker 1:There are a lot of Mormons in Utah. Yeah, it's a thing I've still never been. You've never been to Utah.
Speaker 2:That's one of the states I've never been to.
Speaker 1:I will say this Utah especially, I don't like Salt Lake City. I've never liked Salt Lake City, it's just a big morass and holier-than-thou and they've got a lot of blue laws and a lot of bullshit um, but you get outside of. The pretty parts of utah are unfortunately federal land but I've seen videos. There's definitely some beautiful places, oh my god, uh, you know heaven's gate, all that they're.
Speaker 1:they're just absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous places in oh that's very cool, if you ever get the chance, I would recommend fly into Salt Lake and drive up to Idaho Falls, because that's just a gorgeous drive, and then go see the Tetons on the Idaho side. What's the best time of year to be up there?
Speaker 1:Well, what do you want to do Not ski Okay, uh. Well, what do you want to do not ski? Okay then, uh, I would say late august, september, ish is really going to start cooling off okay, um well, you don't think it's the spring spring, no no, no, no, no, because spring snow it's easier to get in early before winter sets in than it is to time it where winter is over. I see.
Speaker 1:You don't have random snowstorms or you know the rainy season right. The rainy season is the spring up there. Okay got it. But anyway, if you can go to Idaho Falls and A that's just a really neat kind of pretty town falls and a that's just a really neat kind of pretty town, inl's there and there's a lot of stuff to see that you'd be interested in.
Speaker 1:In like erb1, the first nuke power plant is up there and then you can go to that's on the other side of the tetons from jackson hole wyoming, so you can go see the idaho side of the tetons, which is absolutely gorgeous and you don't have the yuppies and the bullshit.
Speaker 1:And then you can I. Basically the trip I would do if you've never been up there, is I'd fly into Salt Lake, drive up to Idaho Falls, go to the Tetons, spend a few days there, go to the Tetons, go to INL and then I would drive to Boise. And on the drive to Boise I would stop at Craters of the Moon. Okay.
Speaker 1:And Crataters of the moon is the only reason why I would say if you can make it in the spring, you should, because it's this what looks like a lunar landscape. That's why it's called that, um, but it's lava formation and the only thing living on. It is this lichen that in the spring, blooms absolutely gorgeous, I like lichens, they're. Anyway, then you can drive on to Boise and fly back.
Speaker 2:Okay, I see. So well, screw that dude. You know how much one-way car rentals are Like? Twice as much as return-to-the-same-place car rentals. Okay, Well whatever I mean, you know.
Speaker 1:All right. Well then make a loop and go back to salt lake for all I care, whatever, but I'm just yeah, no, that's cool um one of these days. Yeah, I mean if you're not skiing, then that is a gorgeous part of idaho to go to now that part of idaho and utah is very high, desert, arid but, if you go a little further north, like north of boise, into into like McCall area and north it's very, it's forest, and then you're into the Rockies really and it's just very different.
Speaker 1:But Boise and Idaho Falls are kind of on a plateau between mountain ranges. Right, it's a little different Now it's mountainous, but it's not the Rockies and it's not. It's a little different now there it's mountainous but it's not. It's not the rockies and it's not the tetons I mean it is the rockies, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:It's like the foothills, so it's just different yeah, well, and I've only driven through a sliver of idaho, but I've never which sliver utah, the southern sliver okay, so where I'm talking about, but yeah yeah, um yeah, but it's, it's a. Uh. That was a very long time ago too. I was in my 20s yeah, I've been all over.
Speaker 1:You know montana, idaho, wyoming uh parts of Utah.
Speaker 2:Oregon.
Speaker 1:Washington. You know I spent a lot of time up there. There's some really pretty places in the Northwest man. Oh, there are, it's just the you know, especially with Washington. Western Washington is the problem.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, and Western Washington is also very pretty, it's just oh, it's gorgeous, just a little colder yeah, that's well, that's where my dad lives, so I've been going there for years yeah, and you know growing up and spending a lot of time in uh all over, everywhere, from tacoma, walla, walla through. Seattle Metroplex all the way up to Vancouver and everything. It's absolutely gorgeous, but, jesus Christ, the politics of that area.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, they're nutty and I think that there is a. I remember when I was young, when I was college or even in high school, the area immediately next to the University of Minnesota was chocked full of granola eating hippies, like they weren't at the college. Right, these are adults back then, so they're all probably dead at this point, but they, uh, that I. I remember it was almost like going and visiting a different country compared to where I was living, because you'd have, like incense shops and vegan restaurants and well, not so much communes I mean, we're talking in the city, in minneapolis proper yeah, yeah, but you'd have, you know, vegan restaurants. You'd have, and at a time in the 80s where there were virtually no vegan restaurants, like you'd have to go out of your way to find one we should go back to that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh, but I always enjoyed that. I always liked going into the incense shop and all the weird kooky smells they got in there and the bookstores with all kinds of esoteric books and things and um, and back then, like the, I think there was maybe not a direct crossover between the hippies and the preppers, but they both were very much into self-reliance and not so much into government reliance like the old school hippies were.
Speaker 2:They didn't trust the government right which the modern ones are like, lock, stock and barrel into the government that's because they're not hippies. They're not hippies, they're statists yeah, they are statists, but it's. It's like anyway. I say this too when I first moved to austin 13 years ago. The best way I could describe it is it's hippies with guns it used to be yeah, but it's like definitely not anymore austin was always.
Speaker 1:You know the saying keep austin weird. Right, well, that was so. That was two ways. Uh, the austinites liked it because they liked it weird, and the rest of texas said you keep that shit over there right exactly um, but what has happened is you've had, you've had such a uh a influx of californians. Austin has become the San Francisco of the South.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I'd like to disagree with you, but I can't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, Gene. You need to get the hell out of Austin.
Speaker 2:No, I know I'm like John Dworak. You know who's in San Francisco. I'm sitting here in the heart of the beast.
Speaker 1:Well, I tell you what I am very tempted to. Just uh, I am very tempted I may need a passport to go back to texas yeah, I'm very tempted to just go buy some land in east texas and say, all right, here's your portion, this is what you owe me yeah yeah, it's a commune, exactly, I think you know I've said for a long time I think that everybody would benefit from living in a communal environment.
Speaker 2:If only to learn about the disadvantages of that. Yeah is bad, and that's that's something that, um, I've had. The, I think, advantage of doing is having spent my early years living in the ussr in a communist country. Uh it, because it's not theoretical. For me it's actual memory and most people are. Were you when you left?
Speaker 1:oh, I was eight years old okay, so you have some memory of it, oh yeah, well, I went to school.
Speaker 2:I was the uh, the, the head of my, you know uh linens chapter of uh, of uh first graders, or whatever you know, I was. I was very much uh, I've always been, I think into politics, even from a very early age, um, so I was gonna do my best and darndest to become uh political in that environment as well, which, frankly, I think is one of the reasons my parents wanted to leave is like shit.
Speaker 1:If he grows up here, he'll probably become like a communist leader he'll'll be a party member and then he'll turn us in Dude way. We got to get the hell out of here.
Speaker 2:I'll be like a party regular, not just a member. So, yeah, I think that there's a benefit to doing that and I've my friends that have gone and spent like a year in the kibbutz tend to be way more conservative than the ones who didn't, from the Jewish persuasion. I think the practical experience goes a very long way to not just seeing a rosy version of something but to actually know the pros and cons of something for real. But to actually know the pros and cons of something for real. Yeah, and maybe that's the silver lining in this Once the U? S becomes a communist country is that future generations will have experience at firsthand and will then put in safeguards in the future to make sure it never goes to communism again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but the problem is, I don't want my kids to have to go through 85 years of hell.
Speaker 2:Well, hopefully it'll happen faster, you know, just because it took 85 years for the soviet union doesn't mean it's gonna for everybody else.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I I don't know, man, I think we are worldwide and I've said this before and I'll say it again when you look at what's going on in argentina, when you look at what's going on in france, when you look at what's going on in the uk, when you look at what's going on in France, when you look at what's going on in the UK when you look at what's going on in China, when you look at what's going on in Canada, like I can sit here and name all these countries that are, at the very least, in current periods of civil strife.
Speaker 1:We are at a hell of a tipping point. That is either going to be uh, to borrow the phrase from Alex Jones, it will not be 1984, it will be 1776, we'll rise again, or it will be 1984, right, we are either going to go the 1984 route or the 1776 route. Those are the only two choices right now. There is no middle path.
Speaker 2:That is very Alex Jones-y of you to say.
Speaker 1:Well, it's borrowed from something he was saying years ago, and goddammit he's right, oh, he's still saying it. He's still saying it. And he's still right, Just like did you watch the Culture War yesterday by any chance.
Speaker 2:No, you know, you've asked me that several times. I don't watch the Culture War. You should, especially yesterday's episode, then send me a link to it to tell me oh, you should watch this one.
Speaker 1:I'll watch it if you send me a link. Tommy Robinson called in.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:That's a.
Speaker 2:British dude that's maligned greatly by being called a Nazi, but he's just looking for, you know, England for the English.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you know he's anyway, and Milo Yiannopoulos was on there and oh, jesus christ, yeah I. I would love to hear your take on milo's jew hatred, but you know that's neither here nor there, like milo is a uh, how do we phrase it?
Speaker 2:um, he's a leech, first and foremost, but he is a uh, he's a repressed gay man. Well, not only is he a repressed gay man, but he was a flamboyant gay man for a long time before he decided to become repressed. Before he decided to go Christian and repress himself. Yeah. Which I will say um he was much more fun as a gay conservative than he is as a pretending not to be gay. Uh, whatever the hell he is now yeah well, I don't know um.
Speaker 1:Why don't we pause here so you can go use the bathroom?
Speaker 2:I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Speaker 1:Ben, you're usually the one that has to go use the bathroom yeah, usually, but this is the time I get to call you yeah well, I'm not gonna go anywhere, I'm just fine, so I can uh-huh, but you know if you need to, I can pause.
Speaker 1:I can pause if you need minutes later yeah, whatever you know, while we're paused I will say um, I did get a note on mastodon, which I normally am not checking a whole bunch but, a few days ago I got a notice and uh, just wanted to say to our donor that we mentioned last week but didn't want to name because the email address thing, uh, thank you to sir hopscotch because apparently that's him okay, nice, nice, yeah, I think he he sent us a note that was.
Speaker 1:You know, he's back at work now and was talking to a co-worker buddy of mine and told him he should listen to just two good old boys To my surprise he had just started listening at the recommendation of his brother. So word of mouth is working in Washington.
Speaker 2:Good, let's keep it going that way because, honestly, guys, we definitely appreciate the funds. You know, like we said before, they're used to cover our monthly expenses for the podcast. However, the word of mouth is just as valuable. So for people that can't afford to donate money, but you want to do something to help get other people to start subscribing and listening to the podcast I mean, if they don't like it they don't like it, that's fine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we definitely want to get the word out. I think we suck at marketing, yeah, and I think the motivation for you and I both doing this isn't monetary in the slightest, obviously, but beyond that, we're we're not such narcissists that, oh you know, we, we just want to be liked, because we don't. We don't espouse popular opinions, we don't do clickbaity things, we don't do that. What we do is we sit here and say things that we think is important for people to hear and try and get our opinions out there, if for no other reason than to well, at least I spoke my mind and I said my piece.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, for the most part I'm just saying things that are important for me to think that you hear.
Speaker 2:But all the other people that are listening in could probably listen to those as well. And I don't know I think I've said this for both of my podcasts with co-hosts is that we'd be having these conversations anyway. It would just be on the phone instead of being recorded. So there's really not a whole lot that we're doing specifically for the podcast. A lot of people that that do podcasts. You'll listen to the podcast and then if you ever get a chance well, first of all, yeah, who the hell writes scripts for podcasts?
Speaker 2:that's for losers, man people beyond that much time on their hands. Yeah, beyond that, there are people that sound one way on the podcast and completely different when they're just talking to their friends there. I can guarantee you there's no difference in the way ben talks on the podcast and the way we talk in real life, and I'm pretty sure it goes the same way for me as well, now this is a complete and total act for me.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much. I need to keep that alex jones defense in the back pocket. Okay, oh, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're just pretending to defend alex jones and talk about how great he is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, this is whatever this is a character like that is completely what I will say in divorce court. Yeah, joking, joking. Uh, it's yeah, well, yeah, yeah, you're quoting alex jones defense.
Speaker 2:Exactly, that's the joke this is. This is not. This is just a character that I portray. Yeah, 20, 24, 7.
Speaker 1:that's the thing. Is anyone who's ever seen alex in any capacity? Dude that's not an act, sorry like there.
Speaker 2:There's no way for that, yeah well, I've never met him, I've never talked to him in person, I've only seen him, uh, even though we live in the same city, have been for decades my only interactions have been passing shit like about years with michael malice oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, um, but it's one of those things where, well, I also applied to be alex's uh coo, so there's that, but I never talked to the guy because, you know, apparently he didn't interview people they had a separate company doing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, which is, quite frankly, probably why you didn't get hired probably yeah, because I said I've been a fan of alex's for years.
Speaker 1:That's probably shouldn't have said that yeah, it's like nope can't work there might actually help them so earlier this or last week, we did the podcast last saturday and we're doing it on Saturday again today Right. I like Saturdays. Yeah, if we're going to do this, we ought to look at streaming live.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm up for it. I have no ability to do that, so the powers that be need to be the ones that teach you how to do that.
Speaker 1:All right. So, Bemrose, CSB, y'all got to help.
Speaker 2:I don't think CSB has anything to do with it.
Speaker 1:No, but he'll know, people knows how to do it, darren knows how to do it, yeah, but csb listens and he can be listening to everything, yeah yeah, but he can shame darren and ben rose to help us, that's, I don't think, ben rose is shameable.
Speaker 2:I don't think that's a possibility. Okay, okay. But he does still owe me lunch, because when I was in Seattle and we met up for lunch, All right, well, ben Rose, you don't owe Gene lunch if you help me with this. There you go. Yeah, you won't owe me lunch next time I'm in Seattle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so anyway, on Sunday you sent me a podcast based off of our debate where they had a very similar debate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but debate where?
Speaker 1:they had a very similar debate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I I thought they were both better spoken than we were, yes, but my side won both times. Um, no, no, no, not at all, not at all so this is the uh nick.
Speaker 1:How do you say his last name for todd? It's not fuentes, but it's just, or whatever he's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's for todd he he's in the Virginia Assembly.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah, he's a politician Virginia State Legislature.
Speaker 2:But he's the most down-to-earth legislature. I mean like his podcast is. It's very good, I've listened to it before I hadn't listened to this one.
Speaker 1:But, you know the neo-reactionary nut that he had on there that was taking your side.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, the neo-reactionary nut. First of all, that's his co-host. Yeah, yeah, he's not a nut.
Speaker 1:It's funny. I don't know. I think that was a very good representation. I think everybody should go listen to it. The podcast what was it titled? Has the US Constitution Failed?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And I would say that yes, it has, and it was an act of treason to ever produce it, but I agree with the classical liberal intent of it. You don't? You think? No, we should go back to a monarch, or whatever like the nut that he had on their thought.
Speaker 2:Yes, just put words in my mouth.
Speaker 1:A dictator, not a monarch. Goddammit, huh. A dictator, not a monarch, like the nut that he had on their thought. Yes, just just put words in my mouth. No, yeah, a dictator, not a monarch god damn it. Huh a dictator, not a monarch yeah, well, you know, benevolent dictator, uh, potato communist, whatever.
Speaker 2:Um, anyway it was, it's worth a listen, it I think it was very good and that was the first show where his wife spoke a lot she usually well.
Speaker 1:She was the problem, though, with that show I you think a problem?
Speaker 2:I I don't. Man, I think she took a lot of the heat off of the uh, the guy that was presenting my side of it okay, well, I.
Speaker 1:So my take is that, um she interrupted and she did do that.
Speaker 2:She was a very informal with her. She was not following debate rules.
Speaker 1:Right and she caused some stutter steps on both sides that I think could have been avoided.
Speaker 2:That's all I'm saying, but she's also a regular in the show. Usually she just doesn't say a whole lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just listen to it and watch it, but uh, it was worth listening okay. So yeah, I, I think it is most of the shows that they did it right after we did it was funny, I, I thought the timing was pretty damn good.
Speaker 2:Um, but they also. I think they like formally prepared for it.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't say that but they did prepare for it.
Speaker 2:They definitely prepared yes, and we did yeah say off the cuff thing we are very much off the cuff because we are so damn intelligent. That's the reason we can say things off the cuff. That and lazy those two yes well you know.
Speaker 1:One of the things I've noted is that, um, the more intelligent someone is, generally they will. There's a difference between being lazy and avoiding repetitive work. Like most sysadmins that I know that are worth a damn, learn scripting not because of any other reason than I don't want to do this repetitive task over and over again, I can make the computer do it repetitive task over and over again. I can make the computer do it for me. There we go.
Speaker 2:That's absolutely the case. I think that was one of the main reasons I learned to program when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:It's just like.
Speaker 2:I can simplify things.
Speaker 1:I've never been a big programmer, because I'm just. I don't that's not in me to go sit down and create software. That's not me.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But if I need to solve a specific problem, I know enough to be able to solve a specific problem, like the first language I ever learned was actually Ruby on Rails. Okay, you know why I learned Ruby out of all languages, because that's what Metasploit was originally built in oh, that's funny, I didn't realize that yeah, and I like I knew uh hd more back in the day, like I've been doing metasploit stuff for a long time.
Speaker 1:I've actually met the man in person, like that's the level right, and so I learned ruby because of metasploit, so yeah, yeah, which. Hd Moore is a legit, world-class hacker dude.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Very smart man.
Speaker 2:I think I learned BASIC first and then I started learning Pascal after that, because that's what the Macintosh software was predominantly written in. Back in the old days see, if anybody remembers this there was a programming environment called MPW. It was accompanied by four volumes that were the Mac ROM code base, so four physical books, so you could learn to program on the Mac and utilize all the functions, routines that were embedded in the ROMs and stuff, and used MPW, which stands for Macintosh programmers workshop. Um, and it was a difficult thing to get into. And then I found a bug in the Mac, plus ROMs within the first month, and I was like God damn it. Yeah, you, you know you're trying to learn to program this thing. I already, you know, right, you had a program in in general, but learning to program on the Mac, and it was like and now I have to deal with fucking bugs in the ROM and they haven't fixed them in the, in the system.
Speaker 1:That was annoying well, and you know, for me, anytime you find a bug, that kind of actually, for me at least encourages you to start poking more, like I, I remember in one dcs ide. So the development environment, right, so where the logic is built for a major control system vendor um, I was working at a power plant and this in development environment just kept having issues and I was like what the hell?
Speaker 1:so I start digging in and I found a massive handles leak and like, within a week, this program, when left running and utilized the way it's intended to be, quite frankly, um, you would get up to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of handles which would just bring the computer to a screeching halt in many ways.
Speaker 1:And one of the things I found was well, you know, if I let it get to that state and then I force a massive database, recompile and function check on the logic which basically makes the development environment, go out and query the field control processors and validate their logic and set points versus what's in the engineering database, I can literally cause the system to crash. Cause the system to crash. And because with this DCS, the communication module that communicates from the HMIs and engineering workstations to the PLCs well, in this case it's a DCS, so it's not PLC but it's a programmable logic controller of a type. It's a field processor. Because that runs at a system-level privilege and I have user access to it, I can inject stuff at a system level privilege at that time.
Speaker 1:Yep. And anyway it was a bug that I found, uh, and.
Speaker 2:How long did it take?
Speaker 1:them to fix it. Dude they did not fix it for years and they threatened to sue me and I publicly released it at the time, whatever. And I told them fuck off, go go talk to my you know company's lawyers, and if you really want to push that, we can sue you for this faulty shit. So let's go you know, and anyway it was a whole thing um, but yeah, yeah yeah, the uh.
Speaker 2:The days of suing to keep bugs from being disclosed are long gone.
Speaker 1:But you know what you say that. But in the DCS world and all that, they still have that mentality even today.
Speaker 2:That's because they're still running embedded Windows.
Speaker 1:Dude, I know of power plants that are in operation right this second as we speak, that are using hp before you start talking. You know, we have one listener in iran oh god, anyway, uh, that's using hp ux 10.2 for the operator workstations that went end of life in 1998., yeah. Like I have seen NT4 in operations.
Speaker 2:I believe it. Yeah, it's crazy. Now there is an argument to be made that using obsolete software actually limits your exposure, because most people are not testing for things that are no longer used. But I'm saying it's an argument, okay, geez, dude, um, but there's a lot more benefit to be gained from using current generation products yeah, well, anyway.
Speaker 1:Regardless of that, there are pros and cons both ways. The reality is and I've seen a lot of people make arguments for data diodes and air gapping and so on, but the reality is these are systems that A you need operational data out of for the business right.
Speaker 1:You need to know how the facility is running, what it's producing. So you've got to get data out and data diodes suck. And the reason why data diodes suck is very technical but it's pretty easily understood. So most application-to-application communication happens over TCP, right? So TCP is three-way handshake. It is a stateful communications protocol in that it validates that you received the information.
Speaker 1:So I say hey, gene, blah blah, blah, blah, blah. And you say hey, ben, I heard you say blah blah, blah, blah blah and I go. Yes, I said blah blah, blah, blah, blah. Right, it's three-way communication.
Speaker 2:So three-way handshake, two-way communication.
Speaker 1:Well, it's three-way communication because you're getting validation of the information back. That's the term used.
Speaker 2:The term is three-way handshake.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, the handshake is separate from the communication. The fact check is three-way communication. This is an industry standard thing, I am right on this, but regardless.
Speaker 2:Well, I was invented in the last 20 years, then, because it's not a term that ever existed before that.
Speaker 1:Go ahead I'm gonna go find it in the original tcp rfi on you?
Speaker 1:good, you won't, I guarantee you okay, anyway, the the whole point is with a data diode, where you literally have a transmit diode for a fiber on one side and a receive diode on the other and no backwards channel, so there's a physical barrier that prevents data from going back in. You're having to spoof that communication on both sides, right? You're having to fake it out, because these applications weren't meant to just stream data. They were meant to validate and make sure the data was correct.
Speaker 2:So it causes problems, yeah but really you don't need that for just logging because, uh, you, you do a lot of logs.
Speaker 1:Use udp uh, well, okay, this is not logs, this is process data. This is massive databases. This is osi, soft pi, this is opc historians, this is opc ua, da and so on. This is massive amounts of data. So, for example, for example, a coal-fired power plant may have, you know, a hundred thousand points of io that they're monitoring a battery site's going to have even more.
Speaker 1:Now a gas turbine simple cycle gas turbine may only have 10 to 15, 20,000 points of IO, but these are all points that they're going to watch for predictive maintenance reasons, for everything else. So you've got to get a lot of data out.
Speaker 2:This is not a text log file.
Speaker 1:This is temperatures. This is histories, historized graphs of data, historize graphs of data. This is, and in some cases, the resolution of this data is, you know, uh, like the scan rate of some dcs's is, you know, down in you know, sub 500 milliseconds. Um, scan rate like this is a lot of data and having to fake that out is just a pain in the ass is all I'm saying and it causes problems and isn't stable, no matter what a data diode vendor will tell you.
Speaker 2:And I've used all the major ones and they all suck, in my opinion yeah, well, I I think part of the problem is that the software Software that was written to do that function did not natively create a one directional path.
Speaker 1:Right. So had the historians been built, or someone built, a historian that was, you know, quote, unquote, data diode friendly that it was meant to just stream data Sure, but the problem is there's no way of validating the data without three-way communication or three-way handshake um without that, there's no way of validating that the data wasn't corrupted on the other side so you can do statistical validation too yes, but it's not empirical validation, and this is the.
Speaker 1:The problem is, this is compliance data, this is data that can be used legally and, like introducing a diode, introduces some things that if your legal counsel knew you were doing, they probably wouldn't let you do so dude half the shit in your line of work.
Speaker 2:If legal counsel knew you were doing, they would we don't, we don't talk about it.
Speaker 2:The the sysadmins or dude dudes named Ben are not allowed to speak to lawyers Exactly, and when they are, there's another lawyer sitting there telling them what not to say. Lawyers and I. I was very quickly no longer a uh, uh, you know, a um, uh, what the hell did? I used to call myself A information security, blah, blah, blah, whatever the hell it was. And it was like I. I quickly became a, a compliance expert rather than a security expert, because, uh, in speaking with more and more lawyers and it's not like I just decided to do that, it's like this, all a natural, organic process as part of the work I was doing for clients is I ended up having to communicate with a lot more lawyers and and uh, then, but that communication was not one directional right, so I would bring back. It's like well, and, by the way, guys, you know we need to do this because, uh, legally we're obligated for it and uh that's a different job.
Speaker 1:That's a different job. Dude the lawyers. I like I've. If you've ever had a email put on legal hold like where everything comes in and out of your email box is going to be um, how do I put this? Um kept forever and monitored a lot of CIS admins and so on. Uh, do not like. I think lawyers have started to learn that.
Speaker 1:Um, we really shouldn't put most of our sysadmins and people on legal hold Like let's make the argument to just do the CIO and CISO because the people who actually know what's going on. We do not want them on legal hold after what we found in their email.
Speaker 2:Definitely not. No, and we, we had uh. So actually I think this it's been long enough, and then it's I think it's public information anyway, but uh, back when I was doing a large security project for target uh, the um were you part of the reason why they got hacked gene?
Speaker 2:well, I know I was not part of the reason they got hacked, but there is a connection between me and what happened there. But I can't publicly talk about it. But I thought I told you though. Maybe not, but I can privately talk about it. I just can't publicly talk about it. But anyway, we had the exact opposite. We had a 48-hour email hold. Anyway, we had the exact opposite. We had a 48-hour email hold. So all email past 48 hours incoming and outgoing was deleted.
Speaker 1:What do you mean? I never sent that email Exactly.
Speaker 2:There was a two-day maximum for any message to be held, which created a separate set of problems, because if somebody didn't follow up with you within 48 hours, you lost the outgoing email, and you know like. From a practical standpoint, there was annoyances that had to do with that, but it was also done for very good reasons, which is if you don't exactly. If you don't have the data by policy, then you can't be asked to provide the data. Yep. So just a little tidbit from history.
Speaker 1:Well yeah, so have you been paying attention to the SSN hack, the Social Security hack?
Speaker 2:Not at all. I've seen the headlines. That's about the extent of it. I don't consider social security numbers to be private anyway.
Speaker 1:Well, but it's not just that, it's address histories, it's a lot of shit. It's everything you would need for identity theft, right, it's literally a background check agency's database on people. Mm-hmm, yeah, that background check company is about to be bankrupt like there's already a class action lawsuit. That's how a lot of this is coming out and it is just like it's it.
Speaker 2:It's it's going to bankrupt that company, almost certainly you know, back in the old days um a lot of what is considered to be private information was considered public information, like a person's address yes, but the credit score back in the old days didn't exist. It did 1986.
Speaker 1:For what? When the FICO score was invented?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. Well, that is the olden days. I'm not talking about the 60s dude, I'm talking about the 80s. But you know, the idea that, oh my God, they know my address and my phone number is something that everybody knew about, everybody back then, and no one cared. Yeah.
Speaker 2:If somebody stalks you, then you call the cops and you put a productive order on. You don't like you. Don't assume that nobody knows where you live yeah but we also didn't have people that are living whole separate lives publicly on the internet, through social media, and then want to keep reality private yeah, well, that was not a thing we also didn't have the orwellian dystopian cancel culture that you advocate for I see what you did there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I uh, I think that there are certain pros and certain cons with the social media that we have these days.
Speaker 1:Completely agree and I think the cons outweigh the pros.
Speaker 2:Right, but taking something that was public info and then making it private info, that's also a one-way street. It's really hard to do. It's kind of like going back from communism.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can't. Um, you know it's once the genie is out of the bottle, it's out right. There is no putting that back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean they can try, but it's uh, it's hard to do. And the Social Security number, when every freaking place that thinks that they're using security and that's the number they asked for it's no longer a secret number.
Speaker 1:And let's remember that when the Social Security Act was passed, it was actually illegal for that number to be used for identification.
Speaker 2:Which is hilarious.
Speaker 1:No, it's actually practical, like if you go back and look at the debates and arguments over the Social Security bills and hey, we're creating a numbering of our citizens. This is wrong. And today we all think about unique identification of ourselves and who we are as something that is a good thing and that's, that's you. And it's like no, you know, you had a bad luck. Shit went wrong. You went to the next town and changed your name and no one knew.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that's very true.
Speaker 1:There was more opportunity for and this is how multiple families and multiple towns Exactly, that's true too, like this is shit. We need to go back to man.
Speaker 2:What did?
Speaker 1:we think. What were we thinking? Look at what we've lost.
Speaker 2:Yes, feminism causes. Uh, what were we thinking? Look at what we've lost. Yes, feminism caused this, that is true. I think there's less opportunity for having multiple families these days, but it's a I'm not a proponent of anonymity.
Speaker 1:I think you've figured that out I think you figure that out and to an extent I I agree with you, um, but I also don't believe in. Anyway. We we have differences, but we've covered that on two podcasts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've talked about it, but in my opinion, anonymity for things that don't matter is perfectly fine, like I don't need to use a frequent buyer card at Starbucks for them to learn what my purchasing habits are or, you know, name your own example, like that's a choice that I can easily make. However, I also think that is insane to have elections that are anonymous. I think that's crazy, like letting anybody letting anybody vote.
Speaker 1:No only people that have land registered with a deed in their communities get to vote period and I I agree that we need to make franchisement harder and if you go back to the nick fratis podcast or whoever, he is um, they actually agreed on that. I think we agree on that. Franchisement needs suffrage needs to be limited.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not universal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think if we ever are going to win that campaign, literally, what we need to do is campaign on ending universal suffrage and making sure only the wealthy, landowning white men suffer.
Speaker 2:We can call ourselves the abolitionists yeah, exactly we.
Speaker 1:We could do something like. It will be hilarious and for those who can't tell, I'm slightly joking in this. Only slightly though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, only slightly I actually do believe in limiting the right to vote like I don't think it should be on racial lines.
Speaker 1:I don't even think it should be on sex lines. I think it should be based on very clear criteria, and I wouldn't be too upset if iq was one of them yeah, and I I told you my practical version of that, which is you have a blank slate.
Speaker 2:If you don't know who you're voting for, you have no business voting for that position.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I think there has to be some allotments for spelling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, yeah, for sure, for sure. But luckily we have AI that can help with that. Mm-hmm. Well, and I think it's reasonable to say that if you misspell like three letters in the person's name, do you really know who you're voting for?
Speaker 1:well, I mean, it's like that nick fritas, guy like I don't know I can spell his name, I just can't pronounce it.
Speaker 2:All right spell it, spell it, let's see if you can oh, jesus christ, all right looking. Yeah, as he Googles really fast, I am not actually at all.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much. All right, okay, f-r-i. Jesus, like not pronouncing and saying things is hard, I don't know man.
Speaker 2:F-R-E-I-t-a-s. Yeah, and the only reason I know is because, uh, his latest episode just popped up on my phone. You're looking at it yeah, no, his his yeah, it just popped up. He's got a new episode out. He is very prolific. He does a lot of shorts and they're usually in the form of kind of tikt tacs right.
Speaker 2:It's like a dude in front of a camera giving advice and his his little signature move is to end every video by holding a cup of coffee with cute little funny sayings on yeah, yeah, I've seen those of his no, he's a good guy. I wouldn't mind, uh, at some point, chatting with him or even having him on a podcast. I mean, he's reasonably big, but he's not like huge. He might be somebody that's small enough to be a guest, yeah, I mean he's been on TimCast a few times, yeah, but so well, yeah, true.
Speaker 2:But you know they have slow days too. Yeah know, they had uh, plus he's local milo he's basically right there.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, which, by the way, it looks like I'm gonna be spending more time in that area oh yeah yeah, work yeah, traffic's gonna be interesting. Um so if, by the way, we slow down on podcasts or something, do know that I just got saddled with, uh, a whopping total of 15 employees.
Speaker 2:Director oh no, I have more employees.
Speaker 1:Whatever will I do, that's a 15 director reports is a fucking lot dude. Yeah, whatever, yeah, all right. Well, anyway, just more problems. Yes, yes, first world problems, that's human indeed, so where do you want to go next gene?
Speaker 2:uh, where do I want to go next? I don't know. What do we want to talk about? Um, you know, easy way for me to do this is just to scroll up and see what kind of shit we've been sending each other. Oh, I sent you a picture of what's your favorite political person from Colorado.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah, with a fake body. Yes, is it though?
Speaker 2:Yes, that is a clearly photoshopped head on that man. That might be what she actually looks like I mean I'd be okay with that. I know you'd be okay. That's why I sent it to you.
Speaker 1:It's not my type, that's for sure you sent me a uh ai generated picture that uh I I wanted to make jokes about it, but I I didn't want you to call me an anti-Semite anymore, so I didn't.
Speaker 2:Oh Well, you know, I'll still call you that, Don't worry.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. Well, let me just say that the AI drawing of you would make Goebbels proud.
Speaker 2:Would it you think, okay, I thought it was uncanny. I thought it was uncanny that it actually picked up a t-shirt color that I own, like I literally have that t-shirt.
Speaker 1:I think it just was random on that, but I think the way it makes you look is like an old rabbi I do look like an old rabbi.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what I look like.
Speaker 1:Not in person, not quite, but yes oh pretty much, pretty much.
Speaker 2:that's not in person, not quite, but yes, oh, pretty much, pretty much. Dude, if you see me dressed in a suit and tie, with a, with a hat on, your first impression would be, though, that's clearly a rabbi yeah, I said, by the way, rabbi just means teacher, that's not an insult, you know I, I didn't say it was only I think somebody would say bad skeleton, look like a rabbi isn't you a bad skeletor meme? That I thought was hilarious um, yeah, yeah, it's a joke about subway is similar to prostitution.
Speaker 1:You're paying someone else to do your wife's job. Yeah, also, uh, since we're going back through our text messages I did send you, since you're such a israeli weapons fan uh, the iwi jericho so, yeah, it's unfortunately sold out right now.
Speaker 2:Oh, it is okay. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the jericho um, because it has an exposed hammer.
Speaker 1:I prefer guns that don't have exposed hammers, but um you know it's uh yeah, but it was like three hundred dollars it's a very good deal. Yeah, for sure and there are lots of really good deals coming out right now through several resellers for, like what we talked about last time on the law enforcement-owned previous trade-in the Elio trade-in.
Speaker 2:I've been a big fan of getting used Elio guns Well.
Speaker 1:I got to tell you this last one I got is like pristine very few rounds shot through it at all and just crazy good deal. And you know I am very proud to have liberated a gun from California.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it was the Santa Clara, clara county or whatever, uh sheriff's department that got rid of them, which I am shocked that they are even allowed to sell those guns and they're not made to destroy them yeah, I, I can see what you mean. I mean there's, there's definitely a uh like how dare the state of cal of California put dangerous weapons into other states?
Speaker 2:But again, they're not selling them, they're trading them into their local firearms dealer who doesn't sell them. Uh-huh. So it's yeah. Also, somebody sent in a correction for me. That said to correct Gene Centex Smoked Brisket is associated with the German immigrants that settled here in the mid-1800s.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's the pork barbecue that's associated with black immigrants and used to be more localized to East Texas and certainly in the Deep South. Can I get an okay CSB? No, you cannot. But yeah, I mean it makes sense that that brisket came here from Germany. I mean that's where brisket came to, with all the Jewish immigrants from Germany to New York, so it totally makes sense. New York, so it totally makes sense. It's not the best cut of meat by any stretch, but it has become a staple here in Texas, indeed, and I still prefer ribs over brisket, but I will happily eat brisket if there's no ribs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pork ribs. I'm not a fan of the big cow ribs. I've got one buddy that loves cow ribs.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean so. There are good places that do dino ribs and there's a lot of meat on them and they can be good, but generally no Pork ribs are better.
Speaker 2:Well, dino. Ironically, dino ribs would actually be chicken.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well.
Speaker 2:Taste-wise, but the point is it's huge Size-wise. Yeah, is there anything we eat that's bigger than a cow? Maybe bison ribs or something.
Speaker 1:No, cows are bigger, are cows bigger than bison?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. Yes, bisons get over 1,000 pounds, don't they?
Speaker 1:So do cows.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess how big are most cows by the is?
Speaker 1:slaughtered uh generally around a thousand pounds okay, and the and your, uh uh.
Speaker 2:How old are they at that point, do you know?
Speaker 1:uh, well, I mean, it depends, but generally right around you know, uh, 14 to 16 months yeah, that's what I thought is that they get to that pound.
Speaker 2:Very okay. Male buffalo are 2 000 pounds, so okay.
Speaker 1:Well, we don't eat buffalo what very often I think we mostly eat male buffalo I don't think very many people eat buffalo at all, but okay, it's weight it's I.
Speaker 2:I like buffalo. I've always enjoyed both, both brit. Uh, I was enjoyed both. Brisket, I was going to say brisket Both. What do you call it? Dried meat, what do you call it? Jerky. Jerky, let me take the B12 right now. Clearly, this is a good sign. Okay, Devorah I've got my pills right next to me here. There we go, put it in the subliminal. Oh God there we go, just put in a subliminal. Oh god, you're doing the sublingual.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the sublingual so I'll be talking like this for a little bit, not a big deal.
Speaker 2:You guys just ignore it for now uh-huh, csb is literally grating his teeth yes, uh, but it is funny, like it is usually, when I pop one of these b12 pills is when I'm trying to remember something and I can't, and it's obviously too late. It's not gonna.
Speaker 1:The b12 isn't gonna be so fast acting, it's gonna make me remember things instantly but it's a good reminder, by the way, um, depending on the breed of cow, cows and buffaloes are roughly the same size Cow Cows and buffaloes are roughly the same size. Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 2:The buffalo. I will say and you've probably done this too because you lived up there but if you drive through a buffalo herd, you don't drive through a buffalo herd. It's a good way to get your car in. They're bigger than a car, yeah, they're bigger than cars.
Speaker 1:Man, these things are huge and I know there's some big ass cows out there, but uh, we should do. You know what we should eat. What we should eat like a hippo.
Speaker 2:That's a big animal that's aggressive and causes lots of problems they do kill more people in africa than any other animal yeah, exactly yeah, they're kind of cute, though A lot of cows are kind of cute too, yeah, and they can move dude Like fat boy can run. Oh, hippos.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally, Totally yeah. They're not fat dude, they're muscular.
Speaker 1:I know that's what you tell the college girls there at UT. They're also big boned.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, they're also big bones. They're UT Exactly. I'm not fat, I'm big bones. Fuck you girl.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I had to do that, which, by the way, I have gone back and watched some of South Park.
Speaker 2:South Park.
Speaker 1:Like I always realized that that was a pretty brilliant show, but when you really go back and watch the brilliance of that show in context of the clown world we live in, it's like why, didn't we listen. This was prophetic.
Speaker 2:Because at the time that show tackles the topic, it's very they're two, three years ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like they're. By exaggerating the thing that's actually happening. At that time, they become predictive of what will be the case a few years later, because a few later, a few years later, the thing that you think is ridiculous today, when it's just barely there, becomes normative. Yeah, that's true, although I will say if you go back too far, go back to the Mr Hankey days.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It does feel a little like they're mostly just sitting around smoking pot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, fair enough. But at the same time there's good stuff from that too, and, by the way, mr Hankey's back with integrity, know, tegrity and all that. So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:But not in the same way, because you had like mr poo and all that crap. It's just kind of like okay, guys, yes, we get it.
Speaker 1:It's funny to do adolescent humor, but not continuously I mean, if you can't laugh at a good poo joke, I mean, what kind of man are you?
Speaker 2:so we talked about jack black previously uh-huh and did you see, uh, how well his movie did uh, no, I did not complete failure at the box office oh, shocker yeah, shocker made like two million dollars or something, uh, and he is now doing podcasts. He's doing the podcast circuit the apology tour.
Speaker 2:Apologizing I'm so sorry. So you know again, I get it. Most of these people will say shit on the cuff of the moment, not really thinking about it or, in jack's case, didn't actually say anything, just nodded well, it lost his band as a result. Problem, yeah, yeah, but it's.
Speaker 1:I don't think either one of those guys really thought this through before deciding they're they're gonna step in this big pile of shit and you know what I would say is there has to be redemption arcs, there has to be ways to come back and you know, when someone says something like that, that publicly, again I I have no problem with the individual saying you know what, I don't want to go to that concert anymore, I'm not going to buy their tickets, or or I'm not going to do this. Right, the insurance company dropping them is a little bit more of a, you know, slippery slope red line for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but again, as what I said last time, individuals own things and it's ridiculous to be able to say well, as an individual, they can choose not to go to their concerts, which they would them anyway but as the owner of the insurance company, they're not allowed to cancel their policies. What do you mean? They're not allowed? Of course they're allowed. It's their fucking company.
Speaker 1:Okay, then I'm not allowed to sell you a sandwich because I don't like your politics.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, exactly. No one should be forced to sell a sandwich if you don't like the person's policies.
Speaker 1:Okay, then all civil rights laws are crap.
Speaker 2:They are Absolutely. Not only are they crap, they're illegal. Okay, yeah, because none of that stuff trumps a person's rights to associate with whoever the hell they want.
Speaker 1:Okay, I think there are limits on what things can happen.
Speaker 2:Well, you know.
Speaker 1:I also don't believe a company should be able to force me to undergo a medical procedure that cannot be taken back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't think a company should be able to force you to do that, but they can certainly make it terms of employment.
Speaker 1:I disagree. It's none of their fucking business. They can have whatever terms of employment they want. They can have whatever terms of employment they want. Okay, then I can make it terms of my employment that you don't drink.
Speaker 2:I can make it terms of my employment that you don't have sex.
Speaker 1:I can make it terms of your employment that you cannot marry anyone but uh, yes, another man.
Speaker 2:Yes, I can do whatever I want. Yes, you can have whatever terms you want, and that'll determine the qualified candidates that you get to choose from and you do not see a problem with that there's no problem with that. It's freedom of association.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Everything else is socialism. You're forcing people into relationships they have no desire to be in. I have no problem with people not wanting to bake cakes for gay people, to not have Jews in their store, to limit access to only people that they like. There's nothing wrong with that. That's the way humans act in the absence of laws okay and you're supposed to be the one who's a anarchist I.
Speaker 1:I'm not an anarchist you've said I'm an anarchist multiple times on this podcast no, I've said I've moved towards anarchism and burn it all down based off of the way our society has gone.
Speaker 2:But that is definitely not where I start to dictate who you are allowed and not allowed to have relationships with are evil and I think, policies from companies that do the same or the same thing they're private dude, that doesn't matter, it still does no, and this is the big difference between you and I.
Speaker 1:I believe evil action is evil action, no matter who is doing it. You think, well, it kind of depends on who's doing it well, it does. The difference is the government has a gun to your head, the company does not again we go back to the conversation we had earlier about most people only having a week's worth of money in the bank.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's their fault. Do you disagree? Are we? Going to strip responsibility completely from people now.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, I believe in personal responsibility. I believe people should do better. No, no, I believe in personal responsibility. I believe people should do better. But I will say that there's plenty of stuff that has happened with how do I put this With the economy and so on, that is somewhat outside of people's control, that I don't know, that I hold them solely responsible. But you know, regardless of the circumstances that you find yourself in, it's up to you to maximize and do the best that you can with those circumstances.
Speaker 2:So Exactly, so if you've, if you're desperate for a job, you're willing to take something that may have restrictions that you don't like on it yeah, you just don't know.
Speaker 1:I, I, I have a. I have a very, very, very hard time with that I don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, hopefully over time you'll see my point better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and hopefully you'll come to the side of liberty.
Speaker 2:I am, in this case in particular, on the side of liberty and you're on the side of government forcing things. Here's why?
Speaker 1:Because you believe in exercising your liberty in the enforcement of something in contradiction to someone else's, and that's the problem I have with it. No, not at all. You're misinterpreting the non-aggression then by forcing you to do something that you don't believe in is inherently aggression the non-aggression principle only works when you can choose the relationships you want exactly. It only works when it is universally applied that is a foul it of association. We both can agree, Galt's Gulch does not exist right?
Speaker 2:Certainly no, it does not exist.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Because no one has. Well, galt's Gulch can't exist. I'll go beyond that. I'll say it can't exist. Okay then your example cannot be morally enacted. Why enacted um?
Speaker 1:why? Because unless you have a society where all parties respect the non-aggression principle and really say I, you know, this is only free association and there is no there's a competing market of ideas. There's an active, competing market for talent and so on.
Speaker 2:What you in there and inevitably end up with is acts of force so if you choose to interpret force the way liberals do, in saying that force is someone offering something you don't like but you feel like you have to take it, that's force and you're going to owe reparations on that. Unless you do that there's, then there's no way that you can interpret two consenting adults in a mutually desirable relationship work relationship, not a sex relationship as being force. It's not force okay.
Speaker 1:I, I, I. We just see this very differently. Well, I.
Speaker 2:I, it's, I, it's okay. It's just that you, you're trying to both have your cake and eat it too, and I'm not letting you Okay. You can't talk about principles when you, when your argument is practically that's not going to work. No my argument is principle. That's not going to work. No, my argument is principled. This one is saying it's not going to work because people don't have enough money in the bank. That's not principle-based.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, that's pragmatic-based. No, my point is why do you here's my principle why the fuck do you care what someone does in their private life? Why do you care what?
Speaker 2:like this is out of the realm of the relationship. Why do you care what someone cares about? It's none of your business.
Speaker 1:It is because I'm trying to engage in commerce with them.
Speaker 2:They don't want to engage commerce with you. No, go away, leave. You're trying to exert yourself into a situation where you're not no, I'm trying to prevent others from exerting themselves upon you.
Speaker 1:Exactlyerting, exactly you're socialist.
Speaker 2:You're trying to help the little guy. Quit doing that. Don't help the little guy we've already established I'm not a little guy well, you are kind of a little guy, you're a hundred, and what 70 pounds 178. That's not a little guy. Yeah, it is where I come from, that's not a little guy it is where. I come from.
Speaker 1:I thought the USSR didn't have morbid obesity.
Speaker 2:No, I wasn't talking about the USSR. I was talking about the Diabetes Association. Yeah, no, but that's my point. Is that trying to look out for the little guy is not sticking to principles?
Speaker 1:I don't think that's what I'm doing, but regardless.
Speaker 2:But that's what your argument is based around in this issue.
Speaker 1:It's really not.
Speaker 2:It's about. This is not force that should be used. You're saying I don't want the company telling me what to do, and my reply to you is no one is telling you what to do. You're choosing to work for that company and you're saying but I can't leave that company.
Speaker 1:Well, that's, that's a trap you put yourself into that's not what I'm saying, because I have left companies over this I'm not talking about you specifically what I'm saying is that this shouldn't be something that companies do.
Speaker 1:I'm going to continue to advocate for it because I think it's stupid for them to do in many ways, in many aspects, and I would advocate for other people to stand up and say no, so that we can stop the companies from doing this sort of shit and not go down that road like I think you're the best way to do that is to not work for companies that do things you don't like them doing, which is exactly what I've done.
Speaker 1:But I'm saying not everybody can do that. That's why I felt very compelled to make sure I did, because I did have enough money and enough talent and everything else that I could just say, yep, no leaving, yep, I think it's very important that people do that. I agree with you. But I'm just saying my position is I don't think that's an area that really any government should force or private entity should force someone to go down.
Speaker 2:Again, you're using this issue of force. There's no force involved. It's a voluntary relationship.
Speaker 1:And that is not reality for most people.
Speaker 2:Again, reality is completely separate and different from principles. You're falling on reality every time. You're not winning on the principle side. You're like well, yes, but that's not reality. Okay, are we arguing principles or reality? Okay, because you're trying to do both. You're trying to argue from a principle standpoint, but then your argument is well, realistically, we can't expect people to do that and well, we've talked about this for three podcasts now, so well slightly different variants of.
Speaker 1:What else would you like to discuss, Gene?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I noticed that you gave a donation to my other podcast. I did, yeah, I saw that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, darren, had called me out you and Darren called me out on the show. I didn't call you out. Dude named Ben was up there, but then he stopped. You know, da-da-da-da-da-da. And then you know, and then you know like all right, fine, I didn't expect you to do anything about that, I was just like come on chip in 25 bucks, so I gave you 50.
Speaker 2:There you go, yeah, yeah. So basically you gave me 25 bucks.
Speaker 1:That's great, thank you well, I mean I I haven't listened to the show, but hopefully, oh you bastard, I haven't listened to your show, but I've been busy, uh-huh. I hope he did the ad read as I asked him to and played the theme music uh, he sang the theme music.
Speaker 2:God damn it, I'm gonna have to go. Look, he didn't play it. He's saying the music I'm gonna oh god yeah, and he has the theme music because I sent him a copy of it so he had it csb someone please? Clip this for me clip it.
Speaker 1:I, I want, I want to keep this. I'm going to send it into the no agenda show.
Speaker 3:I like I'm going to donate and say adam play this, thank you it is too funny.
Speaker 2:He actually sang twice on that show. On the last episode, if you, he played a clip of himself singing which I thought was so meta and it was. It was ridiculously funny. Um, and then he also, like, sang our theme song when he was doing your read as well so I don't know I think darren's getting uh, he's getting the itch to do a little music, I think all right, I mean, that is where most of his money comes from, you know being stealing music, stealing music exactly and he completely ignores.
Speaker 2:Every time I say you know well, you realize this is stealing, that he just doesn't. He shrugs it off like, uh, you know the water off of beaver's coat uh, water off the ducks, back, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, back back in soviet union. Ducks get eaten by beaver well yeah, that was about that bad when he told those jokes here.
Speaker 1:You know what I'll say smirnoff is a, as a beaver is the worst man-eating animal out there um, that's not a. That's not a false statement you know exactly what I mean I do I do.
Speaker 2:That's why I'm agreeing with you. Uh, what else do we have? Uh, anything else interesting? Trump's kind of changing the his style, his tune, now that jd vance is on board to handle the um they're doing.
Speaker 1:They are doing a very good tech a bang-up job?
Speaker 2:I think yes I.
Speaker 1:I think vance has proven himself very, a very, very, very good choice um like a lot of my original concerns are largely not completely largely gone, so yeah, good, yeah, I, I would agree, I think.
Speaker 2:Um, I didn't have as many hesitations about vance as you, but I just didn't know a whole lot about him. Um, and I was somewhat surprised that, like my millionaire liberal friends, had read his book. I was like what?
Speaker 1:yeah, but it's in the same vein of the all your millionaire liberal friends that read einrand right yeah it's the exact same sort of. Thing like in the mid-2000s, you had that somewhat libertarian vibe going through that group and then, it's faded from popularity and now they don't know what to do no, and they know what to do. They're all leaving the us, yeah but where the fuck are they going? Like portugal, okay, and what the fuck are you going to do in portugal?
Speaker 2:like you're gonna bring 150 000 euros to open an account. Um, I don't know that you need to speak portuguese. I think the food is pretty good.
Speaker 1:The fish is great I think you do need to speak, like in barcelona. I can't speak, I haven't been to portugal, but in barcelona, like, most people speak english. But me knowing spanish and being able to get around in spanish was a advantage and I can't imagine that Portugal would be that drastically different there.
Speaker 2:I think you overestimate the advantage that it is Most places in the world you can get by with English. Fine, honestly, of all the countries I've been to, the one where English was the least useful was Japan.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They do not believe in doing anything. They're very racist, and so it's like you would think a country that was as helped by the united states as it has been after being bombed to smithereens by the united states um, that they would have english as a mandatory curriculum, second language. They do not. Vast majority of japanese don't know any english whatsoever. All their tv shows that are american are all redubbed in japanese. Um, they don't even hear english they have really weird porn, like like german level porn no, no, no, they.
Speaker 1:They have since surpassed the germans you think they have?
Speaker 2:okay, all right uh, yes but it's really related though.
Speaker 1:That's the thing right is they do this weird freaky like tentacle and all that yeah yeah, you know the genitals are blurred. What the fuck is the like? What you're? You're sick like you literally have this alien thing gonna do something to this woman yeah but I don't know, we can't see her.
Speaker 2:Uh, vulva you know I'll send you that censored version. I got that video but it's crazy stuff. I mean they're into some weird, weird shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, at least the Germans were more open about shitting on each other and stuff they were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they really liked that scheisse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and most of what I know is actually anecdotal and jokes Like I do not. Yeah, same here I've never, seen it Like.
Speaker 1:that is not the kind of porn I go looking for, but when I see headlines about a Japanese porn actress dying during a bukkake scene from drowning, you know like I gotta stop and go. Okay, the japanese have reached a new level of fucked up and, by the way, their birthright is garbage. So what the fuck? Like you're not even doing this successfully, so there's some crazy shit happening there, for sure oh, jesus yeah, how do we talk about porn? Uh, you must have brought it up, you, okay? I don't think so anyway.
Speaker 2:Uh, there was something I sent you about some nuclear plant issues. Did you read that at all?
Speaker 1:I don't remember the details, I don't know. I didn't see that. If you did okay, I thought I forwarded that to you, but it was um there's always stories about oh, this plant is leaking, or that plant is linking and most of its hogwash yeah, I'm trying to remember where it was located, because it wasn't it wasn't here in texas, for sure.
Speaker 2:It was out. I think it was on the East Coast. Yeah, I don't know how many plants they have out there, but they've got to be some of the oldest ones, right?
Speaker 1:Most of the US nucs are in, you know, the East Coast and some in the Midwest and then California. You know Texas has two and Comanche Peak was the last one that was built and it was built in the 90s but it was originally designed and was going to be constructed pre-Two Mile Island, yeah.
Speaker 2:I remember.
Speaker 1:But they did a halt on that and had to do re-evaluations of designs, all that, and anyway it delayed the project to the 90s and Comanche. Peak I used to work for the company that owns it and they actually still technically have the permits for Comanche Peak 3 and 4. But the problem is you're making a multi-billion dollar gamble with no right to run from the nrc, which is just like the only company in the us that could build a light water reactor just did, and that's southern company like no other us electric utility in at all could do it and building vogel three and four bankrupted westinghouse and
Speaker 1:only southern company with their in-house engineering and everything, is one of the companies that could see that through and they did um, like there are very few engineering firms in the world that can do that and Southern Company has to have happens to have that sort of talent in-house and after their partner got went bankrupt from it they won the right from the NRC to go ahead and do it, which is just amazing Because had Vogel 3 and 4 not been finished, we would not see another light water reactor built in the United States.
Speaker 2:Yeah, NRC has completely fucked the US over by preventing the construction of newer, better, safer, cleaner plants. It has done the opposite of what they originally were created to do?
Speaker 1:frankly, they're not keeping us safe by not embracing the new technologies.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and you're talking about engineers. There are countries, china being one, that are building nuclear plants at a record pace right now.
Speaker 1:Well, I would say China is building more coal sites than they are anything else.
Speaker 2:But they're building more nuclear plants than any other country right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure, but that's nothing compared to the fossil side that they're building as well, and they're also building solar at the same pace.
Speaker 2:I haven't heard much about Chinese solar.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, the Chinese solar installations are just massive.
Speaker 2:They've completely bought into that whole bullshit as well.
Speaker 1:No, no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, because they're still building the fossil fuel plants, but what they're doing is they are building out their cheap solar panels to dump on the rest of the world. Is whatever happened to that? The state industry?
Speaker 2:whatever happened that technology where you were using solar energy concentrators to essentially melt sodium that would then heat up the waters there are very few thermal solar plants those are thermal solar plants?
Speaker 1:they're not. They're they um? So what with the way a thermal solar plant works? Is you essentially have mirrors? Some of them do collection into a tube of water that then creates steam right there. Some focus on a tower in the center and do that, um, well, turns out.
Speaker 1:There's some uh impacts the local wildlife when you put a bunch of mirrors around and can cause some problems. And two, it's just not a very efficient way to generate power and the. The problem is there. There's the. It becomes a harder unit to control because with the photovoltaic cell you're producing power directly. It's dc, but you're producing power directly yeah and when a cloud goes over, well, you produce less power, but it doesn't affect the cycle of what you're doing, that's a good point.
Speaker 1:With a solar concentrator like that, whichever design it is, ultimately you are trying to turn a turbine to generate the electricity.
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 1:Problem is you're having constant fluctuations in the amount of energy input to turning that turbine and keeping that turbine online becomes a very delicate balance and very inefficient process.
Speaker 2:Interesting, yeah, but the amount of energy that you can get by focusing light is amazing. There's a guy that has a YouTube channel. I don't know if you've ever been recommended any of the videos where he has an old Fresnel lens from I don't know what, from something, and it's about yeah, it's maybe like three feet by three feet or something, and it's mounted on a wooden rotatable stand so you can align it with the sun. This thing not only will melt metal, it'll burn through rocks.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's amazing amount of power, yeah, but the, the, the.
Speaker 1:The problem is as soon as a minor cloud goes over and yeah, tremendously and but the problem is so you're heating something up and that constant fluctuation becomes very hard to control is the point. Versus a photovoltaic cell. You don't have a physical process on the other side that you're trying to control.
Speaker 2:Right right, it's not a chemical reaction center.
Speaker 1:And, quite frankly, the maintenance and operations of the photovoltaic cell is also more attractive. So that sort of thermal solar plant, you have to have personnel trained on it and actually operating it right. A human has to do that, because a computer can't. Well.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you right now there's a reason why automation hasn't completely removed operations staff from power plants. Dude, trust me on this one. This is kind of like what I do for a living. I promise you I'm right on this. So here's the thing. A coal facility or a big thermal plant let's just put it in those terms may have a few hundred employees. A small combined cycle thermal plant may have 20 employees. A photovoltaic solar plant will have one guy to dust off the panels and cut the grass, and he's part-time. That's part of the major incentive.
Speaker 1:And it's destroying some what were really good rural jobs. It's, it's a, it's actually how about the wind ones?
Speaker 2:what's the ratio of people to wind?
Speaker 1:so a permanent staff, same thing, but windmills are more of a maintenance nightmare so they have more temporary maintenance staff that comes in, yeah, but what I'll say is that windmills and you can go in west texas and see the evidence of this flat out windmills after they have lived their tax exempt status lives and they are no longer getting subsidized or abandoned because they're too expensive to maintain. Yeah, and here's the ugly truth is there a?
Speaker 2:recycling no, there is not recycling of a windmill.
Speaker 1:And here's the ugly truth about a windmill a windmill takes more energy to generate, to build and produce, and put in place than it will ever generate in its life.
Speaker 2:I've heard that before.
Speaker 1:yeah, Same thing goes for photovoltaics. If you take into account the mining operations that have to occur for photovoltaics all the way through its production and installation a photovoltaic cell never produces more energy than it consumes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's true. Um, although I think that, like for the roofing, for private home roofs, I think that what I've heard is about 10 years will pay for it yeah, as long as you don't get a hail storm that comes through and takes it out yeah. Well, have they not figured out how to?
Speaker 1:no, they have not better glass in texas during some of the uh early summer storms that we had. They had over 200 megawatts of solar panels get destroyed in west texas really yes, commercial installation like these are installations that should have the ability, when weather is coming, that they can literally, because they track the sun and they literally can pivot until they should fold backwards, or something no, no. What our sop was is to put them vertical, so they have as oh yeah, surface area as possible exposed and because you can only move them so much.
Speaker 1:Right, but for whatever reason that didn't occur and it took out a shit ton of them so you gotta have like umbrellas over them well then, that defeats the purpose.
Speaker 2:But no, I mean only when it's failing okay, now you've doubled, tripled, quadrupled the cost and then you gotta have a mexican guy standing there with the umbrella si senor I I love how, instead of commenting about me being racist, you you double down on the racism.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what we do, dude it's. That's a joke, right this is obviously obviously like I remember one episode where I said something about oriental and you're like ben, they don't like being called that anymore and I said, I don't care you know, like that's part of the humor of this show. That's, that's yeah, we we, I'm. I'm not really a racist, I just play one on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly, no, and I think there is actually a growing, I think, trend. I'm seeing on YouTube comedies of stand-ups starting to delve more into racist material. Yeah, because it's funny, and taking the funny out of racism makes racism much worse.
Speaker 1:Exactly, you know, it's like Blazing Saddles.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Right Blazing Saddles is a perfect example of exactly what we're doing yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, if you think Mel Brooks is some right-wing conservative nutjob, you're nuts.
Speaker 1:He's about as left as they get. Oh, did you see that they're going make space balls?
Speaker 2:too. No, yes, are they really? I don't know if I like that, because I think they'll ruin it I, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't know if they'll ruin it or not, but the child everyone will be black I, I just I hope it's good, because if it's, if it's's good like Spaceballs one was so good. Yeah, she doesn't look Jewish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was. It was definitely funny. It was a little, I mean it had a broad appeal like children liked it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, by the way, I still have, and it is set to, but I do like the title of it. I had to double check and make sure I still had this domain, but I do still have slightly racist podcastcom oh nice, that's funny yeah I'm not gonna renew, restore the republic now or write the lies.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna let those go yeah, I let a couple of them slip. You know they jacked the prices up. Did you see? Icann raised their rates?
Speaker 1:Yes, and I've got 26 domains active right now. Uh-huh Jesus.
Speaker 2:They all just went up three bucks. Yeah yeah, that's ridiculous. It's literally what is the true cost of domain registration.
Speaker 1:Nothing.
Speaker 2:Like a penny, no nothing.
Speaker 1:No, no, Literally it is just a cabal of people.
Speaker 2:Well, they employ people, right, so there's some cost, all right.
Speaker 1:If we had a million dollars to start a business like domain registration is one of those annuity businesses that, if you have the capital to put in, will make money over the long term if you have any marketing whatsoever, yep. By the way, did you see what greece is doing? No so greece has gone through you know some of their austerity stuff. They've done a lot of things. Now they are legally enforcing six-day work weeks really holy shit.
Speaker 1:They went from barely working to six day work weeks they are, they, they're their court just okayed enforcing six day work weeks that's insane dude, I'm telling you there's something to this season of reveal that adam keeps talking about, and the potential of maybe 1776 will come back.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm. Maybe, Now I will say that from a you know, just a capitalist standpoint, I think that's actually a good thing People ought to be working six days a week, but from a government mandate standpoint, that's ridiculous.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, it's not a government mandate, but it is now legal that a company can say we want you to work.
Speaker 2:oh well, that's different I thought you meant there was a mandate for it.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no, no that, like before, they had a lot of restrictions on how much you could work yeah, like france, you, you can't work one company couldn't force you to do this. Now they're saying no, they can't which I mean you and I both work well. I don't know about you like this week I was a no shit, very legitimate 80 hour week for me yeah, so I'm.
Speaker 2:I'm pretty much the same, but like a factor to take the zero off and would be about right yeah, well, a lot of people sit there and think they know what an 80 hour week is.
Speaker 2:That don't ever come close to working an 80 hour week no no, I and I work plenty of 80 hour weeks, but a lot of that was when I was a developer, because you literally spend your entire waking hours trying to solve a problem and then you sleep and you hope that you solve it in your sleep, because you're guaranteed to be dreaming about programming.
Speaker 1:And then you wake up and you do it again. It looks like the matrix in my mind.
Speaker 2:Yeah, only for people that don't actually program it looks that way. For everybody else it looks like an actual language. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Which? Why did they make the code vertical like that? It makes no sense. It's kind of cool looking.
Speaker 2:You have to admit aesthetically because neither one of them programs, that's how, because they're visual people that both became trans. I mean, there was two dudes that made Matrix and now it's two chicks.
Speaker 1:They're not chicks.
Speaker 2:And neither one of them looks particularly chickish yeah.
Speaker 1:That's just a problem in so many ways.
Speaker 2:I mean, maybe what led to them deciding that they're not happy dressing as men is the same thing that led to them creating the matrix a frustration with, you know, life maybe so I get it like I don't, I don't escape yeah, I don't expect artistic people, people that create good art. I don't expect them to act quote-unquote normal, like they haven't through history. Why would they now? They they shouldn't, so I make allowances for that creative um deviation. Yeah and they are deviance.
Speaker 1:Well, aren't we all?
Speaker 2:but that's not in a uh. Well, to some extent I guess we could say that, but we can't all be deviants because that's literally the definition of abnormal.
Speaker 1:I know you well enough to know how deviant you are, my friend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a deviant and different use of the word, but I mean saying yeah, well, everyone's above average doesn't work.
Speaker 1:I understand Well Gene we've talked a while.
Speaker 2:Well, you've got to go use the bathroom now. Is that what you're saying? Well, I mean you did earlier.
Speaker 1:Sure, let's pretend I did no anything else you want to cover before we wrap up?
Speaker 2:No, I think we're good.
Speaker 1:I mean, you were supposed to ask me at some point in time about the constitution and we talked about the constitution we, oh, was I supposed to delve down deeper into that topic? Oh, that's right, I told you somebody, okay so now you're literally we're supposed to queue it up for me somebody. I guess I'll have to wait till next time. Yeah, I guess you'll have to remind me next time. You will have to remind Gene next time Somebody had mentioned to me.
Speaker 2:A listener had mentioned that I was talking to that. It's a dude.
Speaker 1:I play video games with and he listens to the show, that he wanted to hear more on Ben's take because he's heard you say it in passing, yeah, in passing in passing exactly well, you know, maybe if we get a big spike and people put the word out and we get some feedback, maybe we'll take uh, take it on next time yeah, or maybe if we just have nothing else to talk about, that'll be. The whole show will be about yeah, well, I'm actually quite curious that in the way I'm actually pretty curious about that as well, because I don't disagree at all.
Speaker 2:I think that the path to a much stronger federal government was the end result of the Constitution, and that's not a good thing. But I'm curious to hear a lot more details on that, because I know that's an area you've spent way, way more time studying than I have.
Speaker 1:So you know the the answer and I will leave it till next time. But the answer is really going to disappoint some people because it's a pretty simple one. But when you look at the history of it and if people want some homework to do, go. Everybody loves Patrick Henry, right? Patrick Henry? Amazing statement from the American Revolutionary War period.
Speaker 1:Go, read his speech to the Virginia ratification during the Virginia constitutional ratification debates, and he will tell you exactly and I tend to agree, you know exactly my arguments against the Constitution and I'll tell you this. You know, when I was growing up one of the things I'm very thankful for is when my parents were teaching me about the Constitution and what it meant, they didn't give me a textbook that said, oh, here's what it means, here's what the Second Amendment means. They not only gave me the text of the Constitution, they gave me copies of notes from the actual Constitution Convention those that exist, and obviously copies of copies, but anyway regardless. And then they gave me both the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers and the ratification debates. And here, what the fuck does this mean to you, kid? What do you think this was all about? Critical thinking, one-on-one right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So you basically had the throw them to the wolves level of training.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean a little more than that, but yeah, I mean by the time I was.
Speaker 2:I'm not opposed to throw them to the wolves. I learned to swim that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, but I mean seriously, though it required critical thinking, we're not going to guide you to an opinion, you must see and understand on your own, and I kind of like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I on your own and I, I kind of like that. Yeah, no, no, I, I get it. My dad just threw me in the mediterranean and said all right, if you make it back.
Speaker 1:We'll see you for lunch, yeah, and if not, uh, I had to.
Speaker 2:I have no son yeah, no, if not, you can always have another kid. So it's uh I. I think that school of training tends to really instill good discipline in people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it definitely will focus the mind a little bit.
Speaker 2:And it's the thing that is severely lacking in most American families' current education level. There are zero consequences for not doing something or not figuring something out. You know, if I couldn't figure out how to swim, I was going to drown. Okay, and I should have if I couldn't swim.
Speaker 1:And you know what? I think that I don't think men should just abandon their children. I think that we need men to not allow the crazies to take over completely, but at the same time, you have to recognize that there are limits to what you will be able to accomplish and either be okay with that or walk away yeah, and and not having a horse in the race.
Speaker 2:Since I didn't have kids, I have watched quite a few of my male friends go through divorces and my advice is certainly for the last decade has not been an easy thing to hear, but I think in retrospect, most will agree, after some time passes, that it was the right advice.
Speaker 2:Which is, after some time passes that it was the right advice, which is, um, don't think that that trying to get time with your kids is worth you killing yourself. And I don't mean physically killing yourself, but I mean like putting all your money towards lawyers and continuously trying to squeeze an extra hour here and there, because the reality is. The reality is it's the way that you act in life that's going to be seen by your kids, not the way you act in the courtroom. No kid is going to say my dad didn't spend enough money trying to get visitation rights. None of them will ever say that the time you have with them make that time be something memorable and something that'll have lessons for the rest of their lives. But the court cases, the battles, the amount of money spent, all that stuff that's just vanity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, on that happy note, gene.
Speaker 2:That's a super happy note. Alright, Ben, we'll wrap it up. We'll see y'all in a week. See you then.
